Keep Your Enemies Closer
by Rosie2009
Summary: Audrey realizes that without being a queen, she has absolutely nothing. She has no friends, no boyfriend, and almost no one that cares about her outside of her strict grandmother and parents that are never there. However, she finds a friend in Mal when she least expects it, and Mal finds her a few more friends. Mal, Carlos, Evie, and Audrey friendship, and Jaudrey or Jay x Audrey.


Audrey collapsed against the wall of a secluded part of the castle, assuming that no one would see the famed daughter of Aurora slowly turning into a puddle of tears. After all, they were all in the other room having fun and enjoying themselves at Mal and Ben's party.

But how could Audrey feel anything but remorse, guilt, and overwhelming sadness after all the things that she had done to the good people of this kingdom?

She had turned on everyone. Audrey obviously hadn't been entirely controlled by herself, but what was concerning was the fact that the scepter took advantage of her emotions toward Ben and Mal that had been angrily stewing deep inside her heart.

But it terrified Audrey to consider how much of the Queen of Mean was the scepter's influence and how much was actually her.

Audrey had wanted her perfect life back, and it felt like Mal had taken it from her. Although, reflecting on it, Audrey was worried that it wasn't entirely Mal's fault. Ben was the one that chose to stay with the faerie even after he had awoken. If he had truly loved Audrey, he wouldn't have remained with Mal after the spell was broken.

It was also Audrey's fault herself. If she had been a better person and allowed her heart to rule her actions instead of her grandmother's prejudices and expectations, she might have been able to maintain her place as queen to be.

But did Audrey ever truly want that? If she had asked herself that four months ago, she would have answered wholeheartedly that yes, she wanted that more than anything else. Now that she had tried out being a VK, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.

As much as she resented herself for it, she felt amazingly free when she was the Queen of Mean. It was refreshing not to be constantly in worry of what someone else would think of her- what Grammy would think of her. Audrey had been strictly raised to marry the crown prince, and preside over good as the great queen of Auradon.

Did Audrey ever consider what she herself wanted in life? If she truly thought about it, Audrey guessed that she wanted love, ultimately. She wanted a close group of friends and a boyfriend who all would love her unconditionally, without any expectations of what she should be in concern to society and being a princess. She wanted people to love her for who she was instead of her title.

Audrey guessed that she just wanted what Mal had. Audrey wanted people to care about her.

Heaven knows, she had been lonely for _so_ long.

"Audrey? Why aren't you in there celebrating?" Audrey looked up, wiping away the tears as fast as she could despite the fact that there would still be stains from her mascara. It was Mal standing before her, a surprisingly concerned look on her face. It was an expression that Audrey almost couldn't understand. She knew that she had apologized to Mal and the faerie had reciprocated that gesture, but she didn't think that Mal genuinely cared about her any further than bare acquaintanceship and diplomacy.

"I just needed time to think. You go back in there and enjoy yourself," Audrey defeatedly told the other girl. There was no malice in her voice, she had no aim of sending any biting words toward Mal. She actually really wished she had someone she could talk to about this that wouldn't judge her and that she could just unload all of these weird feelings onto. Someone that could understand.

"How am I supposed to enjoy myself if you're out here feeling miserable? Kind of gives me a guilt complex, dancing the night away while you're crying it away," Mal told her, coming over and plopping down beside her in a manner that betrayed her completely un-princess-like upbringing.

Audrey watched the green-eyed girl carefully, a little nervous now that her sworn enemy of several years was sitting with her like they were best friends. Audrey felt no hatred toward Mal anymore. Honestly, Audrey wasn't sure what she felt anymore at all. All she seemed to have left in her was guilt and depression.

Of course, looking back, it seemed like depression was all she had ever had in her life.

"So, what's eating you?" Mal questioned in that blunt manner that was so customary to her. Audrey looked down at her hands. Mal had this manner about her that, despite it being against everything she had been taught and all that she knew about the other girl, made Audrey feel like spilling everything that was on her mind.

For some reason, she felt the strings of friendship being tied to the one girl that she was not, under any circumstances, supposed to be friendly to.

"I'm so sorry, Mal," Audrey admitted, avoiding the other girl's gaze as she tried to not get too messy in her tears.

"Audrey, it's fine. I forgive you. I forgave you when you first apologized," Mal explained, and Audrey almost jumped at the feel of Mal's fingers encircling her hand comfortingly.

As pathetic as it was, Audrey wanted to cling onto the gesture. No one had cared for her in a long time. She always depended on herself. It was nice to have a friend there to just hear her out and comfort her.

Aurora and Phillip were always so busy, and Leah was so strict that it was hard to feel like anyone cared some days. She had never had any true friends. Ones that she could actually trust with her deepest feelings. And somehow or another, the daughter of Aurora found herself about to confide all of her troubles in the daughter of Maleficent.

"I'm just so alone," Audrey mumbled under her breath, halfway hoping Mal would hear it and the other half of her horrified that the statement actually came out of her mouth.

"No… You're not anymore," Mal firmly told her, and Audrey could see the girl's genuine sincerity. Audrey suddenly felt her tears overwhelming her and she turned away from the other girl, trying to hold back her sobs but failing miserably.

Audrey hiccupped as she suddenly found herself being hugged by the last person that would ever want to be around her. However, the pink princess didn't question it, instead clinging on tightly in return. She needed something to keep her anchored, at least for a moment.

"I don't belong here anymore," Audrey whispered and Mal awkwardly patted her back gently. Audrey knew that Mal was trying to make her feel better even though Mal didn't know her that well and was perhaps not even comfortable with the entire situation. Audrey didn't blame her. She just admired her for trying. It was more than Audrey herself would have done.

"Yes, you do. You have to be a part of these people. You can't not be. You're too pink to not be a part of them," Mal joked, and Audrey shook her head, biting her lip as she hugged the other girl a little tighter.

"No… I can see the looks in their eyes. They're all scared of me after what I did," Audrey sighed, feeling several more droplets of hot moisture sliding down her face. She hated the weak feeling she had that made her want to cling onto whatever she could. She was supposed to be a princess, loved and revered by all. Not a sniveling ball of emotional baggage. It was just another reason why she wasn't good enough.

"I'm not, and I'd wager that Evie, Jay, and Carlos aren't either, if I know them," Mal spoke, and Audrey felt a sudden shock run through her.

"Why?" Audrey questioned, genuinely confused as to why anybody wouldn't be afraid of her now that she had shown precisely what she was capable of doing.

"You forget that we were in the same place as you. Caught between good and bad and doing questionable things that wavered toward the bad. What matters is that we chose good in the end. You chose good in the end," Mal explained kindly somewhere around the princess's ear.

"But does good mean giving up my freedom?" Everything was deathly silent, and Audrey immediately regretted the words. She quickly pulled away from Mal, placing her face in her hands.

"I shouldn't have said that," the pink princess voiced her feelings, infinitely ashamed of her question.

She had planned on telling Mal some things, just not absolutely everything. Audrey honestly didn't entirely understand what possessed her to say anything at all to Mal in the first place.

"It's okay. Don't be ashamed of how you feel, because I understand." Audrey barely pulled her fingers away from her face so she could look at the other girl. The green-eyed girl got a faraway look in her eye as she stared at the opposite wall. Audrey couldn't help but wonder about the demons that appeared to be floating around in the other girl's mind.

"For a long time," Mal paused, seeming to consider her next words, "I thought that being good meant having to conform to what somewhat else wanted me to be. I thought it meant that I had to be a perfect princess," Mal told Audrey with an almost ashamed dip of her head. Audrey couldn't help but feel that Mal hadn't ever told very many people that.

"Hey, that kind of reminds me of your situation. We've got something in common already. Instant besties!" Mal quipped in what was an obvious attempt to make light of what she had just said. Nevertheless, Audrey couldn't help but laugh quietly at the other girl's comment.

"But really, though. I realized I can still be myself even if I chose good. You don't go wreaking havoc or anything, but you're still free to have fun," Mal informed her. Audrey looked down at her shoes as she considered this statement.

Her immediate thought was a question of whether she had a sense of self at all. Audrey had spent her entire life molded to be something that her grandmother wanted her to be. Her parents never really played much of a part in her life, and all they expected from her was kindness when they were around.

She was practically raised by her grandmother and she hadn't taught Audrey anything besides how to be proper and how to be a good wife. But above all of those things, she had taught Audrey how to rule a kingdom.

Now that Audrey didn't have a kingdom to rule, what was her purpose?

"Mal… Can I tell you something that I've never told anyone before?" Audrey inquired, looking Mal straight in the eyes.

"Of course. As long as it's not something gross and inappropriate. Well, actually, go right ahead if it is. Things could get interesting. Let us speak of your… relations," Mal grinned maniacally and Audrey immediately flushed at the very implication of that word.

"Gosh, no, it's nothing like that! You're so disgustingly dirty-minded," Audrey fussed, smacking Mal's knee while the other girl just cackled.

"Okay, then. Go ahead and tell me," Mal told her once she had finally calmed down. Audrey rolled her eyes, but quickly grew serious as well as she took in a hesitant breath to speak.

"I'm actually… really not talented at anything at all."

"Well, that's obvious," Audrey's gaze snapped over to meet Mal's, her walls sliding back up as quickly as they had come down. Mal's eyes widened as she amended her statement. "Because you haven't tried anything out of the ordinary before." Audrey slowly and hesitantly allowed her guard to go back down as she realized Mal was just trying to be nice in her really weird, awkward way.

After a few moments of silence, Mal turned to Audrey with a serious expression.

"Audrey, you know what. That's a lie. You're good at cheerleading," Mal told her sincerely. "If I could do half of the jumps and crazy stunts that you can, I'd be freakin' superwoman."

Audrey couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"You're good at putting on your makeup, coordinating that makeup with your outfits, heck, you're even good at managing to wear that offensive shade of pink every day," Mal gestured at Audrey's current outfit with a mischievous look on her face.

The pink princess laughed, shaking her head at the faerie. Somehow, Mal, the very VK that she had hated from the beginning, had managed to cheer her up unlike anyone else could. She never expected Mal to be anything but harsh, blunt, and ultimately insensitive. Audrey was pleasantly surprised to see that Mal was more than what met the eye.

"So, don't sell yourself short, Thorn," Mal concluded her monologue, and stood up. Audrey tilted her head to the side slightly as she raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Thorn?"

"What? It's a habit I have. I think up nicknames for my friends," Mal told her seemingly nonchalantly, but Audrey caught her softened gaze flashing in her direction for a moment.

"Okay, then, Dragon-Breath," Audrey tried out with a rather un-princess-like grin, and Mal immediately winced as she turned to face the girl on the floor.

"Yeah… What about something else for me? No offense, but you suck at nicknames, 'coz dragon breath stinks. At least I got yours from your mom's alias," Mal shrugged, offering her hand to help Audrey up. The princess looked at her hand hesitantly, reluctant to take it.

"Do you think anybody would want me to come back to the party? Nobody wants to dance with me because they're too scared that I'm going to somehow transform back into the other girl," Audrey told Mal, allowing her insecurities to show. Mal looked at her for a moment, but quickly winked at her, flexing her fingers.

"I think I know someone who would probably love to." Audrey took one last glance at Mal's hand before taking it firmly, standing up quickly.

"Hey, use this tissue, Aud, and wipe away that much overdone smoky eye," Mal handed her a cloth, and Audrey quickly and efficiently wiped her eyes. The princess smiled gratefully

"Much better," Mal complimented before holding out her hand once again to lead Audrey into the other room.

"Shall we?" Mal questioned in a pish-posh voice as she did a fake curtsy. Audrey rolled her eyes and laughed with a big grin, returning the gesture.

"Indeed," Audrey agreed. So they walked hand-in-hand back to the ballroom.

Audrey immediately stiffened as soon as they were inside the room. Lots of people nearby them stared, but ultimately, the rest of the room remained unalerted to her presence.

The princess stayed close to Mal as they weaved through the crowd, the purple-haired girl searching for someone in the midst of the groups.

Mal must have suddenly found who she was after or was tired of looking, however, because she began dragging Audrey along behind her as she rushed over to a corner of the room. Audrey's eyes widened as they drew nearer to Evie.

"Here, E, hang on to her, I'm going to look for her _dance partner_," Mal put special emphasis on the final part and Audrey found herself growing more and more curious in wondering of who the guy was that Mal was trying to find. And with the way Evie had this conspiratorial look on her face, Audrey couldn't help but think that the bluenette was in on the plan as well.

Evie smiled sweetly and gave Mal a thumbs-up as the other girl left, turning to Audrey with a curious expression when Mal had disappeared.

"How have you been? I haven't gotten to see you much since everything," Evie politely questioned. Audrey immediately felt a lot more comfortable in the situation. Polite conversation with people that she didn't really know was one of the things that she had been well-trained in.

"I've been alright, I suppose," Audrey replied cordially.

"Well, your makeup tells another story, but never mind that," Evie suddenly commented, her warm chocolate eyes meeting Audrey's own as she sipped her punch gingerly. Audrey looked over at Evie with shock.

"Mal said it looked okay!" Audrey squeaked, feeling betrayed. She couldn't believe that she had trusted Mal and she lied to her about how she looked.

Evie shrugged her shoulders.

"It is to the untrained eye. And trust me, Mal's eyes are very untrained," Evie grinned wickedly with mischief that reminded Audrey of Mal in a lot of ways. It was almost unnerving to see the bluenette so comfortably taking up Mal's mannerisms.

"I could fix it for you," Evie told her. Audrey's eyes widened.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Audrey questioned. She couldn't believe that any of the VK's would offer their help and kindness to her. Audrey had been so cruel to all of them, but they still reciprocated with only caring and niceness.

"Sure! Just come over here where the light's hitting you just so," Evie instructed, backing up and beckoning Audrey over to stand in front of her. Audrey complied and Evie immediately launched into fixing the makeup around her eyes with an almost magically materialized kit.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Audrey couldn't help but ask after several brushstrokes over her eyelids.

"You're my friend. Why wouldn't I do it for you?" Evie questioned, her sweet eyes looking into Audrey's for a moment with that signature adorable confusion on her face that Evie alone was able to pull off.

Audrey couldn't help but feel a fondness for Evie. She had an undeniably good heart and it shone through in almost every gesture. Not that Audrey wasn't fond of Mal at this point, but Evie had some almost comforting aspect to her that was more motherly in nature than Mal's attempts at consoling.

Evie skillfully maneuvered around Audrey's face, and with Evie's capabilities in applying makeup, Audrey could almost feel the otherworldly glow that was starting to surround her.

After only a few moments, Evie had finished and she tucked away her kit inside of her nearby purse on the table that Audrey was just now noticing.

"Thank you," Audrey sincerely told her, looking down at her hands that were clasped in front of her.

"You're beyond welcome. It's so nice having someone that actually stays still to be worked on. Unlike Mal!" Evie called out teasingly as the purple-haired girl passed by in her search.

Mal simply turned and stuck her tongue out at Evie, and the bluenette laughed good-naturedly, completely unbothered by Mal's disrespectful gestures. Audrey giggled along with her, feeling a sense of comradery as she shared a glance with Evie.

"Nevertheless, you look beautiful now," Evie complimented.

"It's all thanks to you," Audrey murmured with a shy expression. Evie tilted her head in a gesture reminiscent of a shrug.

"Maybe so, but there's only so much that I can do to someone to make them look good. They have to take it the rest of the way to beautiful," Evie smiled knowingly, and Audrey carefully returned it.

This was so unfamiliar, but it was so welcome. She had never actually had anyone in her life besides her family that actually seemed to be giving her genuine compliments without any ulterior motive. Evie was one of those great souls that just saw the good in everyone and neverendingly attempted to convince others to see that good in them as well.

It was exactly what Audrey needed right now, despite how confusing it was to be coming from the VK's of all people.

"Hello, you lovely ladies," a voice suddenly piped up and Audrey watched Evie's expression change from fondness to adoration in milliseconds.

"Hey, Snowflake! Did you finally manage to break away from Jane to come see little ol' me?" Evie joked, striding over to Carlos with a grin as she wrapped her arm around his middle in a side hug.

"Yeah… She had to go to the bathroom, so I thought I'd come and see one of my other favorite girls," the boy told her, grinning widely at Audrey and Evie, and Audrey couldn't help but smile at him, too.

Carlos had this infectious energy that just came off of him in waves. No one could stop smiling when the boy was around. He was just so bouncy and happy.

"How many girls do you have, you cheeky devil?!" Evie feigned offense and Carlos immediately got a comically worried look on his face.

"No, no! Not like that! I just meant that you and Mal are my sisters and Jane's my girlfriend, so technically all three of you- oh… You were kidding," Carlos suddenly awkwardly realized and both of the girls laughed at him.

"What?! How was I supposed to know it was a joke?!" Carlos whined and Evie gently ruffled his hair.

"You'll be okay." Evie then looked around and raised an eyebrow, seeming to be in thought. She then suddenly turned to face Audrey.

"Why don't you and Carlos dance for a moment? I'm going to help M look for 'the guy,'" Evie hinted, looking at Carlos pointedly. He immediately got a boyish grin on his face as he looked at Evie.

"Sure, I'll dance with her." He then looked at Audrey with a sort of shy expression. "That is, if you wouldn't mind," Carlos checked as he came a bit closer.

Audrey looked at the boy, considering his offer. Audrey wouldn't mind a dance. That was one of the things that she was best at and it was certainly something she enjoyed when she had a suitable partner. And Jane had never complained of Carlos stepping on her feet before, so Audrey decided to give him a chance.

"Yes, that'd be great," Audrey conceded, taking his hand when he offered it. She turned her head and waved at Evie as she left, mouthing another thank you to the bluenette.

Evie simply beamed and winked as she disappeared into the crowd.

The corners of Audrey's lips quirked as a happy waltz played. Carlos bowed to her with a silly half-lidded look as if he were trying to be a sort of debonair gentleman. Audrey curtsied in response, and they began the waltz.

"So, who is Mal and Evie searching for so dedicatedly?" Audrey asked finally, her curiosity overwhelming her as she spotted occasional flashes of blue and purple locks through the crowd.

"Somebody good," Carlos offered nervously and Audrey met his gaze firmly with an unimpressed eyebrow raise. He chuckles under the pressure, swallowing and looking away.

He led her around, moving around the other couples that were surrounding them. Audrey smiled, noticing his perfect footwork.

"You are an incredible dancer," Audrey praised, completely shocked that a VK would know how to dance in a formal situation.

"Evie taught me. I needed to impress Jane tonight, so Evie helped me out," Carlos admitted, looking down cutely. Audrey could see why everyone was so fond of Carlos. She had only been around him for a few minutes, and she could already see that he was sweet as could be.

"You're certainly impressing me," Audrey told him, unable to keep her usual calm, cool, detached façade. Audrey wasn't used to being so open with just anybody. She wasn't open like this with any of her previous "friends" or boyfriends.

Somehow, Mal, Evie, and Carlos had proved to her that they could be trusted. Maybe it was just them being there in her time of need, but she supposed that was quite possibly what made friends what they were- they were there for each other when needed.

"Well, that's something at least," Carlos grinned lopsidedly at her as he spun her around on the dance floor. They continued in their dancing until Jane suddenly tapped on Audrey's shoulder.

"May I cut in?" Jane questioned with that awkward grin.

"I appreciate the lovely dance," Audrey expressed with a curtsy before stepping to the side and letting the other girl move into her place.

But before she could see his reaction, there was a sudden change in the music. It turned to a slower, sweeter beat, and all of the couples drew closer together with a collective dreamy sigh.

Audrey watched as all around her, people swayed to the music in the low, romantic lighting. She looked down at her feet, feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness coming onto her.

She now had no one to dance with and there was absolutely no one that wanted to dance with her. Mal and Evie still hadn't returned from their search, and Audrey was beginning to wonder if their plan had backfired on them. After all, there wasn't anyone in this entire ballroom that would even begin to consider dancing with the former Queen of Mean.

Just as Audrey turned around, she bumped into a hard, strong form, and she put her hands against it to steady herself. She looked up and saw the only VK from Mal's closely knitted group that she had not spent time with tonight- Jay.

He smiled in that charming sort of way and Audrey felt something deep inside of her flutter.

"May I have this dance?" he asked suavely, his gaze focused solely on her own. Audrey nodded with a gulp, suddenly feeling her mouth go dry as he gently placed his hands on her waist. She kept her hands on his chest.

Audrey glanced over where she had been standing with Evie and she caught sight of the bluenette and the green-eyed girl casually leaned against the wall. She made a nervous face at them, and they both just grinned at her widely.

"You look beautiful," Jay complimented, and her gaze immediately snapped back to his own. She offered a small smile.

"Thank you."

Jay simply smiled at her softly before moving his focus to their dance.

She watched him carefully for a moment, trying to think of something sensible and interesting to say. She had very unwillingly had a crush on him since he first greeted her when he arrived. Audrey couldn't help but be a little nervous as he softly danced with her.

"So… Were you who Mal and Evie were looking for?" Audrey questioned, her heart racing when his eyes met hers once again.

"Yeah. Which is kind of crazy since they know I don't like dancing," he told her. Audrey felt her joy shrink significantly under that admission. She didn't want his pity dance.

"But I told them I could make an exception for you, one of the most gorgeous girls I know," he flashed that wide grin at her and she immediately felt her legs turning to goo and that lightheaded feeling return to her.

She simultaneously loved and hated what he was so successfully doing to her. He was making her into those sorts of girls that were easily won over, and she couldn't stand it, but she also didn't want him to ever stop.

"Hmm… That's sweet of you. Why me, though?" Audrey prodded.

"Why not you? You're amazing. And your personality is attractive, too," he added almost shyly. Audrey leaned into him a little more, feeling herself melt even further.

"How do you know about my personality?" Audrey couldn't help but question. It was her insecurities talking, and she couldn't exactly make them stop, despite how ill-timed they were.

"You're stubborn as a mule, determined for things to be perfect, driven to get what you want… Those are some pretty killer traits in my book," Jay admired, and she suddenly got a grin from ear to ear.

She slid her hands up his chest and to his neck as she moved in a little closer.

"Huh… You know so much about me, but I haven't gotten much of a chance to know about you," Audrey admitted.

"Hopefully, in time, you can figure it out," Jay sweetly told her as they stopped in their dancing. Audrey's eyes widened in shock and she froze upon realizing that the music had stopped.

Jay pulled away from her and she immediately missed the feel of his arms as well as warmth. He took her hand in his gently and kissed it softly. She blinked and he brought her over to Mal and Evie at the nearby table, before disappearing in the direction of the food table.

Audrey immediately got an enormous smile on her face as she longingly watched him leave.

"Well, did that float your boat, Thorn?" Mal questioned and Audrey's gaze snapped over to the purple-haired girl that was so casually leaning back in her chair.

The pink princess immediately felt an overflow of emotion and she walked around the table, pulling Mal into a tight hug. The faerie quickly reciprocated, and Audrey almost felt like crying as she reveled in the feel of the caring touch.

Audrey would never be alone again.


End file.
